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Feb 11

Several boat projects got done today.  The first had to do with cleaning.  In the course of doing the engine work, lots of nasty crap went in the bilge.  Fortunately, there is a separate contained area under the engine that should catch oil or diesel.  This keeps bad stuff from getting in the main bilge and then getting pumped overboard.  A considerable amount of diesel fuel and oil got in this area while messing with the fuel lines.  The first thing I did was use my electric drill driven pump, which normally is used to pump the oil out of the engine for an oil change, to pump two gallons of oil/diesel/water out of this under-engine area.  I pumped this into empty gallon oil jugs to later be taken to the yard's oil disposal tank.  Then I got a large garbage bag and removed the three large oil-absorbent booms that we keep in the bilge.  Two of these are in the area directly under the engine, and one is just in front of it in the main bilge in case any oil ever escapes from the under-engine part.  All three of these had been in place for several years and were heavy and saturated.  Getting them out of place and into the bag was not as ugly as I had envisioned.  Once they were removed, I used a small plastic putty knife to scrape the bottom of the bilge area and remove quite a bit of various solid pieces of stuff that have fallen there over the years.  I placed three new oil absorbent booms in the bilge and wiped up as much general crap as I could.

This reminds me of a tidbit I left out of the last log update.  When Dennis was putting things back together, he couldn't find a two-inch spacer for one alternator, and a nut and washer for the other alternator.  He started using his hand to fish around in the muck under the engine and found the spacer.  Then he used a little extension magnet (like a teacher's extension pointer) and in two quick sticks into the muck, found the nut and washer.  I asked him if he ever went fishing, because he apparently had good luck.  He said he didn't have the patience for fishing.  I'm glad he found those missing bits before he ran out of patience.

While cleaning the bilge, I noticed two hose clamps on the raw-water engine cooling system that I'm surprised Dennis hadn't pointed out.  They were rusting (even though they are stainless steel) and the hose showed signs of having some leakage due to loose clamps.  So I removed them and replaced them with new ones that I bought the other day.  This is something the surveyor would have found and written up as a deficiency, so better to fix now.  Another thing we have found in the engine compartment is that the light no longer works.  It has two bulbs, so it's not likely they both quit together.  I took it apart, and sure enough, it was corroded inside.  The bulbs tested fine, but the sockets were shot.  Another thing for the list.

The last task of the day was making the tachometer work.  I think I know that this is just a wire that became disconnected during the engine work.  Sure enough, it was disconnected at the terminal block that connects all the engine wring to the rest of the boat.  I connected it and the tach works fine.  All the jobs should be this simple.

This morning, Barb had a conversation with Sylvester, the weekend dockmaster.  He had noticed that we were quick to lend a hand taking lines whenever a boat docked near us.  She explained that we used to run the marina in Grenada, so we knew a bit about docking boats.  This afternoon, while below, I heard a voice calling my name.  It was Sylvester in his dinghy at the piling next to us.  A boat was coming in to dock next to us, and he wanted me to be on the dock to take their lines.  Of course I happily helped.  I wonder if we can start getting an employee discount on our dockage?  The new boat was an Island Packet named Watermark III.  Once docked, we briefly chatted with Jim & Gerry and gave them the basic local knowledge, like where the marina office was, and when happy hour started.

Speaking of happy hour, I have mentioned the dockside bar a number of times over the past few weeks.  The official name of the bar is WestPoint Bar.  I'm not sure why, because it isn't on the western edge of the marina.  In 2009 it was owned by Angie, who now owns Al Porto restaurant where we go for the 2-for-1 pizza on Tuesdays.  It is now owned by a Dutch guy named George.  You can see some very complimentary pictures here.  While at happy hour tonight, we met Jim & Cheryl who live here and run a day-charter catamaran called Cat Tails II.  We may keep them in mind when our friends are here in April, just in case there is a reason not to do day sails on MoonSail.

For dinner, we went to the Dogwatch Cafe.  We have not eaten here often, but tonight is their BBQ night.  Barb got Jerk Chicken and I got ribs.  The ribs were tasty, although there were no bones.  It was rib meat, and apparently it was so tender the bones had already fallen off.  OK with me.  Barb's chicken was good, and it wasn't until she was done that the burn started to set in.  She asked our waitress, who had been pretty attentive so far, for a glass of water which took about 15 minutes to get.  Overall, ok but not outstanding.

Today was our friend Ed's funeral in New Orleans.  I wish we could have been there to support his wife and all our common friends, but that wasn't possible.  We thought of him several times during the day. 

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 12

There was a significant task accomplished today.  We had been waiting to raise the foresail until after the work at the top of the mast was done.  This is because I need two halyards to safely go up the mast, and one of those is the one that hoists the foresail.  Well now that the up-the-mast work is done, and there is no significant wind blowing this morning, it's a good time to raise the foresail.  I dragged the sail bag out of the shower stall where it had been stored and got it up on deck.  As with many other aspects of this project, I had to think a bit to recollect after three years how things went together.  But soon I was winching as Barb fed the sail into the groove in the furler and we raised the sail.  Once up, we then furled it up.  We look like a proper sailboat again.

Our new neighbors, Jim & Gerry on Watermark III were having trouble getting their computers to hook up to the marina wi-fi.  I went over to take a look and see what the problem was.  After some tinkering, it wasn't obvious what was keeping them from getting to the marina sign-on screen, so I called over to Barb to have her get the URL of the actual sign-on screen.  This should come up magically, but it wasn't.  When she popped her head back up, she said ours was dead too.  So, good news for Jim & Gerry, it's not their problem.  Bad news for everybody, since it's Sunday and the girl in the office doesn't know how to reset anything.  Guess we'll have to rough it without a connection for a day.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 13

Barb made us breakfast burritos today.  We haven't been eating breakfast much since we've been here.  It was a tasty change.

I walked up to the office to inquire about the ETA for fixing the Internet.  The girl at the front desk acted surprised that there was a problem.  She tried to tell me I couldn't get on because I had changed my password.  I assured her that I changed my password three weeks ago and that wasn't the problem.  She said she would look into it.  When I left the office and got downstairs, I ran into Donna, the office manager.  She said the IT guy was coming to fix it, so obviously Employee A doesn't tell Employee B what's going on.  A couple hours later, the office called me on the VHF radio to ask if the wi-fi was working.  I checked and it was. 

I started the day with an easy task.  The water tanks need filling.  Even when we are at a dock, we use the water from our tanks rather than hook the hose directly to the boat.  This practice started in Texas where the water would turn green in the hose laying in the sun.  It also is a safety practice because without the hose connected, if a line broke the most water we would put in the bilge would be thirty gallons.  If the hose were connected, that amount would be unlimited, and then we would be hoping the bilge pumps worked correctly.  Speaking of the bilge pumps, when we first launched, it didn't seem like either one of them was working correctly.  They would come on, but didn't seem to pump anything.  There was very little water in the bilge, and we never addressed this when we left the boat in November.  That was risky, but when we returned we found no more water in the bilge than when we left.  Well a couple of days ago, after more water had been put in the bilge by various engine work, etc., I manually ran both pumps, and they both pumped fine.  Woo Hoo!  One less task to worry about.  Maybe there just wasn't enough to pick up before.  Back to the water tanks, we have three thirty gallon tanks.  This makes a fancy system for determining tank fullness (which we have but has never worked since I bought the boat) necessary.  When your switch to the third tank, you have a couple days to fill up.  Simple.  So, I filled the two empty tanks and topped up the third one.

The water was the cheapest thing I would do today.  I went over to A-1 Marine to find out how much the labor charge was for the engine repairs.  Carl, the owner, had the invoice ready.  The first thing that caught my eye was the number, which was about $5200.  Then I immediately started scanning the page for something to indicate that was EC$ and not USD.  Whew!   It was.  So the bill was just under $2000 USD, which was about what I expected.  Next I went next door to Budget Marine to pick up the new stereo I ordered, and pay my bill from last month which includes the new batteries we installed last week.  Another $3500 USD gone like that!  It's a good thing Barb & I worked that contract before coming down here to pay for all this stuff.

While at Budget, I picked up our new stereo.  The old one, which ironically went back and forth the States with us, so I can't blame corrosion, doesn't work.  Either that or all four speakers quit at once.  Using the logic that the speakers wouldn't all quit at once, I ordered the new stereo and a cockpit remote for it.  The stereo is here and the remote should be in a couple days.

Barb walked over to the yard this morning to see the guy who operates the Travel-lift.  We had a bag of clothes that we didn't need anymore, but are perfectly good (i.e. they don't fit).  We had been told that Danny the yard guy would take stuff like that.  Danny sent Barb to another guy, Mario, who took the bag from her.  While she was doing this, she ran into Dennis, the mechanic.  He asked her if I had flushed the engine's cooling system yet.  I had not, and he told her to make sure I did it soon.

We joined Chuck & Micki for lunch at Peter's BBQ.  We sat next to a guy who turned out to be Chuck & Micki's neighbor across the dock.  He was trying to connect to the internet and having trouble.  I mentioned that it had come back half an hour ago, but he still couldn't get on.  I took his laptop from him and re-enabled his wi-fi connection.  I was his hero.  He was immediately on a Skype call to the Amel dealer in Guadeloupe to resolve a problem.  What did we cruisers do five years ago when great wi-fi wasn't available in most places?

So, my afternoon project was flushing the engine.  I had already picked up a can of cooling system flush stuff at the grocery store.  I had to drain a little water to make room for the pint of flush stuff, then add it and run the engine for fifteen minutes. Then drain the water, refill it, run again, drain again, then refill with real coolant.  The temperature gauge is not working (pending next parts shipment) so I hope all is well.

Late in the afternoon we made a run to the grocery store.  We got stuff for a few meals over the next few days, as well as some staples.  We are slowly rebuilding our inventory of staple stuff.  But, we are doing so keeping in mind that we will only be here a few months.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 14

I woke up at 6:30 this morning.  What is unusual about that is that it was the first time I woke up since going to bed last night.  I can count on one hand the number of times a year I don't get up once or twice during the night.  Sometimes to visit the facilities, sometimes I'm just aware that I woke up to roll over.  But to sleep all night, without conscious awakening is a treat.

Being Valentine's Day, after Barb finished polishing the remaining stainless and doing "step2" of cleaning the Isinglass of the cockpit enclosure, I gave her the afternoon off.  She spent the rest of the afternoon reading or playing a game on her Kindle.  She did fit in making us sandwiches for lunch aboard.

I tackled electronic tasks today.  First was to install the new stereo.  By some magic of electronic design gods, the shape of the new stereo (different brand) was exactly the same as the old one.  So, I pulled the old one out and slipped the new one in.  Of course the wiring is different, so I cut off connectors, and hooked up the new ones.  Once connected, I turned it on and started with the radio.  My logic was correct - the speakers worked.  Then I put in a CD, and it played!.  Then I hooked up the iPod and it worked!  All in all, pretty simple.

Next task was to continue the installation of our AIS system.  Seems like yesterday, but it was ten days ago that we pulled the cable for the GPS antenna that goes to the AIS system.  I may have neglected to explain what the AIS system is.  AIS stands for Automatic Identification System.  It is basically a collision avoidance system for boats.  All big commercial boats are required to have it aboard as of a few years ago.  Pleasure craft like us, can have a receiver, which lets us "see" the big boys, or for quite a bit more money, we can have a transceiver, which lets us see them and them see us.  We have the transceiver.  There are really three pieces to the system.  There is the transceiver, a display, and a splitter for the VHF antenna, which it uses to communicate.  All three come from different manufacturers, and the description of how to wire them together is less than perfect.  The transceiver has to hook to a GPS antenna, which we installed ten days ago, but needs a fifteen foot extension to the cable.  Today, I mounted the transceiver, and the VHF splitter.  I ran a power wire to everything, and got to where I can't go further until I get an extension for the GPS cable.

For dinner, we joined Chuck & Micki for pizza at Al Porto.  Being Valentine's Day, they had special promo material going on.  It said "2-for-1 pizza and Cheesy Love Songs".  The entertainer was not the lady who we have seen before, but rather a Canadian girl who was more a Taylor Swift style, than "Cheesy Love Songs".  She was OK, but could have used a better sound man to mix here vocal and guitar.  Chuck & Micki ordered four pizzas - two to eat,  and two to go.  We just ordered two to eat, but we also ordered a starter of mozzarella, tomato, and basil.  When the pizza came, and the starter had not, Angie apologized, got it right away, and said it was on the house.  As usual, it was all good.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 15

After bragging about my great night's sleep yesterday, I had a terrible night's sleep last night.  Don't know why, just tossed and turned and lay there awake for a good while.  Must have been caffeine in the pizza.

Today we are splitting a rental car with Chuck & Micki from coram Deo.  They needed to go to St. Johns for several things and asked if we wanted to go too.  I have several things to try and get, so we were more than happy to split the car with them.  Since I already have a 90-day Antiguan driver's license, we rented the car in my name and I drove.  That saved $20 USD.  I was at the office at 08:30 to get the car, and did all the paperwork, but the car we were supposed to get wasn't there.  Chuck & Micki weren't there yet so it was no problem.  By 09:30, Chuck & Micki were there, and the car still wasn't.  The girl finally gave us a different car.  It was larger, and not washed because it had just been turned in, but it was fine.

We started by driving north to just past St. Johns and going to Wood's Center.  (St. Johns is the main city on Antigua where cruise ships call and lots of stores are.)  We missed the turn into Wood's Plaza, but the next turn took us into a new strip shopping center that had an Ace Hardware.  We went there and found a pair of pliers I wanted, a new bucket since the old one is getting brittle, and a couple baskets to maybe work in the fridge since the dimensions are smaller now that I insulated it.  Chuck & Micki found several things they needed too. 

Chuck needed to go to the Scotia Bank and do some business, so we dropped him there.  We need to find a coax connector and a small length of coax cable, so we were going to go to Radio Shack in the same plaza.  But, we found that the Radio Shack there had closed.  We asked a gentleman in the store next door, and he directed us to their other store in the heart of St. Johns.  Chuck expected to be awhile, so we went and found the Radio Shack.  They did not have the type of coax I needed, but they did have the connector I needed.  If you really think about that, it doesn't make sense.  Why would they have connectors for a type of cable they don't sell?  But, I got the connector and proceeded on my quest.

The next item on our list was a gauge for the propane tank.  We had been given directions to a welding supply place by Darius at Budget Marine.  Last time we rented a car, I forgot to take the map he drew me, and couldn't find the place.  This time, we had the map and I found it just where he said.  I went in with the remains of the old gauge and asked the girl behind the counter if they had anything like that.  Of course, looking at the remains, it was hard to tell what "that" was.  I explained it was a gauge for a gas tank, my case a propane tank.  She said they didn't have anything for propane.  I explained that I was pretty sure it didn't matter what type of gas it was, and that a gauge for welding gases would work.  She said she would show me what she had.  She reached behind her and grabbed a box and opened it on the counter.  There was exactly the same gauge I had in my hand.  Go figure.  I told her I would take it, and the price was $20 EC.  That's about $8US.  That's the best deal I've gotten in a while.  If they knew it was a "boat" gauge, it would have been ten times as much.

We headed back towards Wood's Center, and as we were going there, we got a call from Chuck that he was done at the bank.  Perfect timing.  We picked Chuck up and the next stop was the new Epicurean grocery.  Chuck and Micki had not seen it yet and they were properly impressed.  I mentioned the new Epicurean in my last update, and since did a little research and got the whole story which you can read here.  We both grabbed carts and started roaming the aisles.  We didn't have a specific grocery list to get, but still found quite a few things to get.  Chuck & Micki got more than us, and had brought their cold bags so we didn't have to rush back to Jolly Harbor.

When we left the Epicurean, we decided we needed to eat.  Not knowing anyplace specific other than downtown St. Johns, we headed there.  We were concerned every place would be busy with cruise ship people, but decided to try anyway.  Once downtown, we scored a hard to find parking space, which I parallel parked in on the "wrong" side on the first swipe.  I impressed everybody, including myself.  We were two or three blocks from the main cruise ship area, and started walking that way.  A few doors down from where we parked, we saw a store called The Map Store.  The Map Store carries maps, but also educational and religious books.  Chuck & Micki knew the owner of the store from their missionary work here in years past, and knew she had moved her store, but hadn't been to the new store.  We went in and met Linda the owner of the store.  She hadn't seen Chuck & Micki in a couple of years, and was delighted to see them.  They introduced us and we found Chuck & Micki's book on the shelf.  After chatting with Linda a bit, we asked her for a recommendation for Caribbean style lunch.  She directed us to Mid East Fast Food.  We were looking for somewhere the locals go rather than someplace that caters to the cruise ship tourists.  We walked the couple more blocks to the docks and not only found the restaurant, but found that there were no ships at the dock. I looked at the online cruise ship calendar, and this was the first day in a month there were no ships here.  Since we weren't downtown to visit any shops (many of which were closed) it was to our benefit to not have any crowds.

We had told Chuck & Micki about the Donkey Preserve that we visited a couple weeks ago, so after lunch, we headed across the island so they could see it too.  Once you have paid for a rental car, you need to use it all day and get your money's worth.  We got to the preserve a few minutes after 14:00.  That is feeding time.  So while we got to watch the guys fill the bathtubs the donkeys eat from with fresh cut grass and brush, we couldn't go in the corral and pet them like we did last time.  However, the trip was not a bust.  While the volunteer girl was telling Chuck & Micki the story of the donkeys, she mentioned a mare that had twins.  The twin donkey's names were the same as twin nieces of Chuck & Micki's.  So, of course, they had to "adopt" these donkeys. 

Since we had come around to this side (eastern) of the island, we decided to continue around and to the south near Falmouth/English Harbors and take the south coast road back to Jolly Harbor.  The one thing I was still missing on my list of things to acquire on this trip was the piece of coax I need.  Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at Marionics to inquire.  As was the case when we stopped here looking for connectors for the VHF cable, they didn't have it, but the young lady made several calls for me and found that Signal Locker at Nelson's Dockyard had some.  They were reluctant to part with any, since this type of coax is not common, and they wanted to have it for jobs they get on mega yachts, but they agreed to part with fifteen feet.  We drove over to Nelson's Dockyard.  If you followed the link above, you know that Nelson's dockyard, is not only still an active marine center, but a national park.  So, usually, you park in the parking lot and walk into the yard, even to do business with one of the marine businesses located there.  But, since Chuck & Micki know everybody on the island, we drove up to the gate and Chuck knew the security guy.  He opened the gate and allowed us to drive right to Signal Locker, saving us a ten minute walk.  We got the cable, and even though it was treated like gold, the price was very reasonable.  Chuck also knew the lady running Signal Locker, so they caught up while the tech cut my cable.

We left English Harbor headed to Jolly Harbor.  The last item on Chuck & Micki's agenda was to find some coffee.  Carib Bean Coffee is a locally owned business that roasts their own beans.  Chuck & Micki and lots of other people are devoted followers of this establishment.  While we were there, waiting for the girls to package Chuck & Micki's order of ten pounds of coffee to last them all season, they overheard the owner in the back saying that she was retiring.  Turns out she has had enough of running a small business in the islands and is quitting.  It's not a financial decision, as they had all the business they could handle.  They just want to enjoy some retirement time after 15 years of working hard at the business.

We enjoyed the rest of our ride along the southwest corner of the island back to Jolly Harbor, and got back just before sundown.  We took our stuff to the boat, went to happy hour for a few drinks, and then returned to the boat where Barb made her jambalaya recipe based on what Pege Wright gave us in 2005.  It's still yummy.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 16

I slept much better last night.  I realized as writing this that I left out important detail back on the 7th.  I had reconnected the SSB antenna, and had never reported the next day how it worked.  Well, it seems to be working pretty well.  I have been checking in with the Coconut Telegraph each morning since getting the radio working.  I seem to be able to hear pretty well all the way between Grenada and the Virgins.  This morning I heard our old friends on Daniel Storey who are headed back to the States and they were north of the Dominican Republic.  I will probably resume doing net controller duties when we leave the marina here.

I had to return the rental car this morning before 09:30.  At 09:00 I walked up to the bathrooms, and then on to the car, only to realize I forgot the key.  I have already gotten out of the habit of carrying any keys!  That's a good thing.  But, it meant I had to walk all the way back to the boat.  When I finally got the car and headed to the fuel dock to fill the gas tank, the fuel delivery truck was just backing in to fill their tanks.  For whatever reason, they close the fuel dock entirely while filling the tanks.  I begged the security guard to let me in for gas before they started, and he let me in.  I got the car filled up and returned successfully.

Most of my day was consumed continuing the installation of our new AIS system.  I had to relocate the VHF antenna splitter due to the length of the original antenna cable.  It was easier to change my plan of where to put the splitter than it would be to lengthen that cable.  I got all the power wires from the three pieces connected to a new dual bus bar behind the main instrument panel.  I had some confusion regarding the VHF antenna splitter and if the power to it had to be on to just use the radio, even if you didn't want the AIS on.  Much research on the West Marine website, and general Google searches, did not reveal an answer, other than I think I found the real manufacturer of the splitter.  I sent them an e-mail, but don't expect a reply since I bought the unit from West Marine.  I continued with the installation hoping that with no power to the splitter, the radio would still work normally.  The next challenge was hooking up the three wires that make all the data flow between the pieces.  The three pieces come from different manufacturers, and they each use a standard nine-wire cable for their connections, but they only use three of the nine wires.  Of course there is no color coordination of the wires, and the terminology used in each installation manual is different.  I think I have the right ones connected, and tomorrow I'll finish with the extension to the GPS cable.

I was getting a little shaggy in the hair department and we decided today would be a good day, with sufficient wind, to sit on the end of the dock and buzz me with the new clippers we bought in the States.  I got one of our cheap fold up chairs out, and found they too have corroded to the point of trashing them.  But, I was able to sit in one long enough for my haircut.  Barb was very careful to clarify with me that "3" was the proper setting for the clippers.  I said it was, and looked to be sure that's where they were set.  We both neglected to notice that the plastic guard was not on the clippers.  So, when she took that first swipe and said "Oh Shit!" we were both surprised.  Of course, I couldn't see what she was seeing, but once you take the first swipe, there is no turning back.  So, I now have a basically shaved head.  There will be hats and/or sunscreen for a week or so.  (See the pictures for the whole story.)

After the haircut, we helped Watermark III leave the dock.  They are going out the anchorage overnight and leaving for St. Maarten in the morning.  Since returning to the boat, we have felt a different atmosphere with the cruisers we have met here. Maybe because it seems more of them are European.  But with Jim & Gerry, we had an instant cruiser connection like we were used to.  Hopefully we'll see them again in the future.

We did a short happy hour at WestPoint, since the bar was crowded and after we had drinks in hand it looked like it was going to rain and we hadn't closed the boat up.  So, Barb went back to the boat to close up, and I went to the store to get rum and tea.  (No they aren't going to be mixed.)  At the grocery, it felt like old home week.  I saw Sylvester the weekend dockmaster, Amy the girl from Typically Tropical who rented us the villa in November, and Dennis the mechanic who worked on the engine.  On one hand, this indicates we have been here too long, but on the other hand, this is what I wanted - to stay in one place long enough to get to know locals.

I got back to the boat just as it started to rain.  Barb warmed up the left over jambalaya from last night and we enjoyed it again.  We also enjoyed watching the comments on Facebook to my new haircut.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 17

My project today is to try and get the AIS installation done.  The GPS cable is all I have left to do.  I think I have all the pieces.  I started by putting the ends on the coax.  I have three to put on, one on the original coax coming from the antenna, and then one on each end of the fifteen foot extension.  Before I actually put them on, I tried to screw one on the female/female connector I got to hook the extension to the original piece.  Turns out the female/female connector I got a couple days ago is not the same size as the male ends I have.  Damn!

This change in events led to our first Island bus trip.  Buses in the Caribbean are really vans designed to hold eighteen people, including the driver.  The physical size of the van is somewhere between your American mini-van and full-size van.  An American full-size van would be considered a twelve passenger van.  You get the picture.  We walked up to the grocery store and found a bus sitting there waiting.  We hopped in and waited about ten minutes for him to leave.  I'm not sure if we were waiting for a specific person, or whatever the driver considered to be enough people to go.  Or for the discussion between the driver and another person outside the van to end.  Since as we drove away, they were both still yelling at each other, I'm guessing the conversation wasn't the key event.  Within a few stops of the marina, we had filled the van to capacity.  To my surprise, we then passed up other potential passengers instead of double stacking people.  For $3EC (a little more than $1 USD) each, we were in downtown St. Johns.

We had looked at the cruise ship schedule online before leaving, and there is only one ship in today, so we didn't expect to see a huge crowd.  We walked immediately to the Radio Shack, about six blocks from the bus terminal.  I had one of the male connectors, the female/female I bought a couple days ago, and an inch of the cable with me, so I should be able to match things up.  I found that the male connectors they have that are specifically labeled as being for RG58U cable like I have, are a smaller threaded part than the ones I had.  So, I bought three of these connectors and thought I was home free.

It was about 11:30, so we thought we would have lunch down by the cruise ship dock.  We went to Cheers, where we had gone before with Pat & Dori in 2009.  There are obviously better places to eat for both price and quality.  But in exchange for mediocre service, mediocre food and high prices, we got to watch the pasty white tourists from the ship walk around.  It can be quite entertaining.  Several places right off the dock advertise "free internet".  I guess you don't get free internet on the ships, so people are running with their iPads looking for a connection.  Two young ladies sat by us and ordered two cokes as they set up their iPads.  When the surly waiter brought their drinks, he said there was a $10 USD minimum purchase required to get the "free" internet.  He didn't explain it quite that clearly, so it could have been construed that he was saying the internet was $10.  In any case, the girls were pissed, and he was pissed, and they left.  Which brought us around to discussing his attitude.  While he served us quickly, and was "ok", he definitely had an attitude that comes from working in a place where the customer is probably never returning, so it doesn't matter how you serve them.  He didn't know that we had seen him three years ago with this same attitude.  It reinforced my desire to get t-shirts for us to wear on those times we go into a cruise ship port, that say "I am not off a cruise ship".  I doubt it would matter to this guy, but it might cut down on other people hawking things to the tourists from hitting on us.

After lunch, we walked back to the bus terminal and got on the next bus to Jolly Harbor.  On this end, the bus doesn't leave until all the seats, jump seats, and front seats are full.  It was getting pretty steamy in there by the time we left, but once moving the air flow cooled us down.  Half the people got off before we were outside of St. Johns.  The rest got off along the way to Jolly Harbor, which is only about a 6 mile drive, but about twenty minutes.  At the end, the only people left on the bus were us and another obvious tourist couple also going to Jolly Harbor.  Unlike many islands buses we have been on that blare big-beat island or rap music, this one was playing gospel music.  The jury is out on which one I would rather not listen to more.

Back at the boat, I jumped into putting my new connectors together for the AIS.  I got the three new male connectors installed with not too much trouble.  Then I went to hook the extension cable to the original one, and found that while the threads were the same on the connectors, the center pins were not the same sizes.  The center pins on the male connectors were larger than the holes in the female connectors.  So, size really does matter!  I also found that the threaded end on these male connectors did not match the connector on the AIS transponder.  That part was rectified by switching that one to the male connector I got from Budget marine.  After even more research, I now know more about mini-UHF connectors vs. N-connectors, and why my other pieces don't match.  So, the search will continue for the perfect connection.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 18

Today was not a big project day.  I did accomplish something though.  We routinely remove the steering wheel when at a dock for an extended period to give better access around the cockpit.  The wheel slips over a shaft that has a snap-ring on it that the wheel stops against.  That snap-ring had broken before we left, and we brought a replacement back.  Simply replacing the snap-ring turned into a thorough cleaning and lubricating of the steering pedestal bearings and chain.  The new snap-ring got installed, and we should be good to go in that area.

I was smelling engine coolant this morning, which tells me we must have a leak somewhere.  I started the engine and watched it while it ran.  I found two places where there were small drips, and tightened clamps to stop them.  Hopefully that will be that simple.

While I was working on these things, Barb started polishing the last part of the topsides that she hasn't done yet.  The toerail is the edge where the deck meets the hull.  So, there are 38 feet of it on each side of the boat.  Today she worked on the first three or four feet on each side from the bow.

My afternoon task was to make a list of remaining tasks.  Some have to be done while at the dock, and some are longer term.  It has seemed to me that there was a never-ending list, but after actually writing things down, it doesn't seem so bad.  Although the few things waiting on parts from the States are show stoppers as far as leaving the dock.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 19

We checked in on the Coconut Telegraph today, and for the first time heard Mike & Lynn from Seabattical.  We buddy-boated with them through much of 2009 and really enjoy their company.  They are making their way north from Grenada, and we are looking forward to hooking up with them again.

The rest of the day was declared a beach day.  When we got here we said we would do one beach day a week while we put the boat back together.  So, for the second time in a month, we are headed to the beach.  We walked over to Castaways about 11:30 and had lunch.  Castaways has their own beach chairs, and there are other guys on both sides of them who are independents.  Last time we were here, Castaways chairs were all reserved for cruise ship people coming in after us.  So, we paid $20 USD for two chairs and an umbrella from a different guy.  Today, I asked more specifically what the deal was with Castaways chairs.  The official chair guy came and explained to me that they reserve chairs for the cruise ship people, but when available, restaurant customers get complimentary chairs, and a $5 umbrella.  Since we apparently timed it just right, we could have this deal.  So, for $5USD we got two chairs and an umbrella.  The rest of their eighty or so chairs we empty.  But, about an hour later, several buses appeared, and those chairs were instantly filled with people from a German cruise ship.  We enjoyed the afternoon, and we brought an insulated bag with our own beer for the afternoon.  We discussed the merits of either coming on a day when there are no ships, vs. the entertainment of watching the people in addition to enjoying the beach.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

Feb 20

Boat projects took a small step backwards today, but also several forward.  The backwards step was our Engel freezer quit cooling again.  This should be not so bad news since the guy who recharged it put a dye in the Freon so we should be able to find the leak.  However, when I took the back off and looked, I don't see any evidence of dye.  Of course, I don't know what I'm looking for either.  We now have to decide whether to rent a car again and take it back to Woodstock Boatbuilders to give them another shot at it, wait until we take the boat around to Falmouth Harbor and take it to them then, order a whole new one from the States, or do without a freezer.  Decisions, decisions.

On the step ahead list, there were two things, one small, and one significant.  The small one was I hoisted the rest of our flags.  To date the only flag we had flying was our Antiguan courtesy flag, and it was on the starboard spreader flag halyard where the courtesy flag of the country you are visiting should fly.  We fly the American flag from our backstay, on a small flag halyard I rigged there some years ago.  We had found though that the way I had it rigged, the flag frequently caught on the wire ties that secure the SSB cable to the backstay.  So, before using it this time, I relocated the flag halyard to the other backstay where maybe it won't get caught.  After moving the flag halyard, I hoisted the flag.  I also then hoisted our Texas flag and SSCA Commodores burgee on the port spreader flag halyard.

The more significant achievement was getting the outboard started.  It is one of the tasks that has to be done before we can leave the dock, since the dinghy is our car when we are anchored or on a mooring.  I already had glanced at it and knew that the throttle cable was seized up, and I had let some WD40 run inside the cable several days ago.  So, I wiggled the cable, and it moved a little, but not a lot.  I took the cover off the engine and my first thought was surprise at how much stuff looked corroded.  The engine was not stored inside while we were gone.  It was on it's mount on the stern rail the whole time, but it's designed to be outside, so other than the cover itself having no paint left on it, there shouldn't be any damage from being outside.  Upon further inspection, the corrosion seemed to be superficial surface crud, and nothing significant.  I gently pulled the starter cord and to my delight the engine turned over fine.  Before I can try to start the motor, I need a new fuel tank and fuel line.  The old plastic tank is brittle and looks like crap.  Also, the cap on the old tank had a built in fuel gauge which was made of steel.  It has rusted away to nothing but powder in the tank.  I could shake for hours and probably not get all the dirt out of the tank, so a new one is in order.  The hose that runs from the tank to the motor and has a bulb to pump the gas in when you first hook it up, was brittle also.  The bulb itself had no give in it at all.  So, I went to Budget to get new ones.  They had two tanks available, one the size we have (small - about three gallons), and one that holds about six gallons.  I opted for the larger one.  They also had a kit that included the hose, bulb, and ends, or you could buy each piece separately.  I took the kit even though it said it was for a Yamaha, and figured I could just swap my old end on to it.  On my way back to the boat, I put a couple gallons of gas in the tank.  When I got back and compared the hose ends, to my delight I found that the Yamaha end for the motor matches the Honda engine.  Sometimes the little surprises are so nice.  I did find though that the tank itself did not have a fitting on it.  So, I had to go back to Budget and get the proper fitting for the tank itself.  Speaking of Budget, Barb has decided that I just have a girlfriend over there, since I keep going back everyday and spending more money.

Once I hooked up the fuel line, I pumped the bulb to fill the line with gas and prime the carburetor.  To my delight, there seemed to be no leaks.  The one thing I did check before trying to start it was I removed the thermostat.  I found it to be cruddy and looked like it probably was stuck.  I just happen to have a spare onboard, so I put that in.  Unfortunately that is about the only Honda spare part I have.  I planned to bring several more back with me, but my lack of diligence in ordering them soon enough resulted in that not happening.  Once the new thermostat was in, it was time to try to start the motor.  My  plan was to see if it would start on the rail, and if it did shut it right back off.  Since it has to be in the water to have cooling system water, I didn't want to run it dry.  I really didn't expect it would start easily.  The guy on the boat behind us, who is Italian and speaks primarily Italian with his wife and their buddy boat, came over and offered me a gadget that allows you to hook a hose to the water intake so you can run it out of the water.  I should have one of these.  I gladly accepted his offer to let me use it, and hooked it up.  The moment of truth was upon us.  (To give you an idea of my confidence level, I had already looked in the Budget Marine catalog, and knew that a new engine would cost me over $3000 USD, if they even had the kind I would want here in Antigua.)  I gave the engine a couple of quick pulls, and got nothing.  Not expecting the result to change, I gave it about five more pulls, and then it popped to life!  It was running as if we never had left.  Since the throttle cable is still not free, I manually worked the throttle and revved it up a little bit.  What I did notice was that even with the water gadget hooked up, we were not putting water out of the little hole that is designed to let you know you are pumping water.  So, I only ran it about 20 seconds and shut it down.  Before I worry about the cooling water, I'll get it on the dinghy and see if it pumps water when it's properly in the water.  In any case, I can put that $3000 back in the bank.

We dealt with rain showers off and on all day today, even though the weather guru said the whole region would be dry through next Saturday.  These weren't the little 10-second shower.  These were real showers and it was pretty overcast all day.  Late in the afternoon, we went and took showers and then went to happy hour at WestPoint.  As we were walking up there, we saw the darkest and most ominous looking clouds of the day coming.  The bar is open-air, with some old sails hung over the seats.  This is fine in a little sprinkle, but based on the look of the clouds, we selected seats on the downwind side of the bar where we were most likely not to get drenched.  Sure enough a heavy rain came for about ten minutes.  We stayed dry, while the folks on the other side had to move a little. 

Barb was going to cook aboard tonight, but since it looks like showers may continue off and on, and the boat would have to be closed up, there is no sense adding the heat of cooking to it.  So, we went to Peter's BBQ for dinner.  They were very full, but fit us in although we didn't have a reservation.  (Something about the formality of reservations, and the laid-back lifestyle of the Caribbean that just doesn't jive with me.)  We learned the name of the guy who usually waits on us is Anthony.  We also learned that the lady who does most of the cooking on the grill is apparently the owner.  She must have been Peter's wife.  (Peter died sometime since we were here in 2009.)  Barb had sausage and rice, and I had their Seafood Plater (that's what was on the whiteboard).  It consisted of a small crab cake, several grilled shrimp, a couple pieces of calamari (not deep fried), several scallops, and a steak of some kind of fish.  It was all very tasty.  As usual, the only downside was waiting too long to pay.  They don't have the same turnover-the-table-fast mentality that an American restaurant would have.

GPS N 17-04.000 W 061-53.000  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10113.

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